On a summer Saturday or a Mardi Gras weekend, the Galveston County Jail fills with people charged with public intoxication — most of whom did nothing more than walk along the Seawall after a few drinks. Brian Foley explains the charge and why so many of those cases go away in this video.
The statute
Penal Code § 49.02: a person commits an offense if they appear in a public place while intoxicated to the degree that the person may endanger the person or another. Class C misdemeanor — fine only, up to $500.
The element officers skip
Intoxication alone is not the crime. The State must prove a degree of intoxication creating a risk of danger. That is an opinion, and it has to be supported by facts: stumbling into traffic, inability to stand, passing out on the sand, aggression toward others. An offense report that says "strong odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, unsteady on feet" describes a person who has been drinking, not a person who may endanger anyone. Body-camera video of a person walking, talking, and following instructions is a defense.
Why PI arrests happen anyway
Public intoxication is the charge officers use to end a situation — a loud group, an argument, a person who talked back. Under Penal Code § 49.02(c), it is a defense that the alcohol was administered for therapeutic purposes as part of medical treatment; more practically, the defense is that the "may endanger" element was never there.
Resolving a Galveston PI
Most PI cases are set in the Galveston Municipal Court or a justice court. Options include dismissal (where the video does not support endangerment), deferred disposition (a probationary period ending in dismissal), or a trial to a jury on the endangerment element. A dismissed or deferred PI is expungeable, and it should be expunged — because a Class C arrest on a background check reads as an arrest.
The DWI connection
Many Galveston PI stops begin at a parked car. If the officer believes you drove, the charge escalates to DWI. Do not discuss whether or when you drove.
Brian Foley and Luis Baez handle Galveston County cases from Houston. Call or text (713) 703-1718.